


two can keep a secret if one of them is dead

by monchouchou



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Death, Gen, Major Character Injury, Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Secret Identity, mark plays detective, subtle clues somewhere in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29371503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monchouchou/pseuds/monchouchou
Summary: A 'Pretty Little Liars' inspired fic where...A year after helping Renjun cover his tracks to go on the down low, Mark and his friends, alongside the entire town came to the shocking news of a body being found. With all the signs pointing to their friend, Renjun, being the one who had died, everyone starts questioning whodunnit. Every case has an answer but with the whole town loving and fearing Huang Renjun, it's not so crystal clear.
Comments: 25
Kudos: 50
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	two can keep a secret if one of them is dead

**Author's Note:**

> written for a little wonder's fifth round, i heard a secret
> 
> many thanks to my beta who helped me heaps and to the mods for working hard to bring us all this fest! i hope you enjoy!! <3

A full moon looms over him as pebbles of sweat start to form around Mark's forehead. Despite the winter frost, hot breaths fill the air as panting young men continue burying soil over one spot. Fogs of breath creep out of their nose and mouths as they huff and puff. Arms aching from carrying the shovels over and over again. 

Usually, they're used to heavy lifting but somehow the weight of the situation adds on the burden and suffocates them.

Jisung's eyes brim with tears that continuously fall on the soil that he scoops up with a creaky old shovel. No one says a word. All too taken aback with the series of events that might have taken place without their awareness.

The youngest continues to hiccup as he attempts to hold back his cries, "God damn it Jisung, pull yourself together!" Donghyuck growls as his eyes glassy, laced in crimson. 

Donghyuck's chest heaves up and down, chin trembling and hands shaking- clearly terrified, himself. No one points it out as they all share the same sentiment. Terrified, aghast and spiralling down into despair.

This was not meant to happen. How did it all start from seven friends having a playful banter to six friends burying six feet underground? No one was sure of it but somehow everyone was thinking of the same thing, _no one must know where Huang Renjun had run off to._

\--

Four weeks have passed since Renjun's mysterious note asking the guys to hide his tracks for him. The moon was full with the majority of the town being asleep already. The wind fiercely howls as if mourning for impending doom. 

As the clock flashes 3:49 am, a boy receives a text while he’s in the midst of typing. 

_come meet me, u know where. -rj._

The boy didn't need to think twice before climbing out of his bedroom window and down to the side of his house. As his shoes touch the freshly mowed lawn, he looks around, checking if anyone's awake to witness his departure. He pulls his hood on to fully cover his face from others in case someone might see him. 

As he reaches the alluded area of the meet up, his head beams around checking for a person. His brain takes a few seconds to catch up with his senses as leaves crunched behind him. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favourite," a voice suddenly calls out. The boy turns around with glassy eyes and a heartbroken look on his face, "Jun?" he barely whispers as he sees Renjun in the flesh. 

He immediately runs up to hug Renjun, "We've been so worried about you, what happened? Why did you go so suddenly?" the boy asks question after question until he was unable to catch his breath. 

Renjun chuckles an exhale as he pats the back of the boy, "look, I don't have much time I need you to do me a favour," Renjun pulls away from the hug and holds the boy's arms to his side.

The boy looks lost, eyes searching for a trace of answer on Renjun's face, a sign, a tell but nothing. 

"I need you to come with me," Renjun's eyes suddenly go dark, "what?" the boy exhales a shaky breath. Something’s wrong.

Renjun's grip tightens, "look, you idiot, I need you to come with me so I know you won't tattle," he grits. Renjun's teeth look as if they’re ready to devour him whole if he doesn't comply. 

The boy searches for an answer in Renjun's eyes but all he can find is darkness, something sinister, he could see Renjun spiralling like never before. 

"I-I can't Jun," he barely says aloud, "I can't just leave my family without an explanation," he starts tearing up, "and I especially can't leave _them_." 

The wind howls, crying out and warning both boys that something sinister is about to take place. Leaves fly up to just under their knees. The boy manages to break loose of Renjun's grip on his left arm. Renjun's brows furrow and he scoffs, "So what? You're just gonna pick them over me? I thought you and I were better than this," he pleads.

Softening, the boy's gaze becomes apologetic, "I'm sorry Jun I really can't go with you but you know you can trust me," he whispers.

Renjun lets go of his grip all together and looks down at the ground. He tucks his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and stays quiet. 

"But that's the thing, my sweet," Renjun murmurs, "I don't," he grits before pulling out a carving knife and slashing the boy's arm, pushing him to the ground out of shock. 

He falls on his butt, "you don't understand do you?" Renjun walks closer to him menacingly, his eyes hidden under his hood. "I need you to come with me," Renjun emphasises, "or else you're a dead end," he spits. 

The boy crawls backwards while looking up, waiting for Renjun to move first, knowing full well that if he makes any sudden movements Renjun would for sure strike him without mercy. 

Thinking fast on his feet, the boy trips Renjun and kicks him in the face just as the latter was about to lunge for a swift stab. Stumbling backwards, Renjun hisses as he loses balance and drops the knife. It’s unfortunate for Renjun that there’s a lack of light in the woods because as he reaches out aggressively tapping the ground around him, the moonlight hits the knife, reflecting on it just in time for the boy to find it.

"Look I don't want to hurt you Jun, please just trust me," he pleads. Renjun gets up on his feet and rushes forward ready to tackle the boy down but as he grows closer the boy takes one swift jerk and hits him right in the abdomen. 

Renjun gasps upon impact and sinks to his knees. The boy follows Renjun's movements, his hands and knees shaking as he realises what he had just done. 

"I will," Renjun gasps, "kill you," the boy's eyes widen upon hearing the words and adrenaline pumps through his blood. Pulling out the knife, he stabs Renjun two more times, blood spills everywhere. Renjun drops to his side with his arms around his waist trying to hold off the blood. 

The wind howls ferociously making the boy's eyes brim with tears even more, "I'm so sorry," he cries, the knife drops to the ground, "I didn't- I was just-" the boy nervously cover his eyes with his hands, running it to hold onto his head. 

He feels something on his face and as his trembling hands reach away from his head, he finds his hands covered in blood. Renjun's blood. He looks down and reality sinks in, shaking and murmuring, "no, no, no, no," he runs off leaving Renjun on the ground, choking on his blood and slowly losing life. 

\--

Since Renjun's disappearance, not a single person in their group has been the same. Some went on their separate way, some clung onto one another- paranoid that the other will spill and some- one, in particular, stays awake in the middle of the night staring at the ceiling desperately hoping to get rid of the image of his friend choking in his own blood, out of his head.

Endless nights of waking up in cold sweat from their last memory of Huang Renjun haunting them in their dreams. What happened that night was meant to be kept secret. For the most part, it was. 

"In other news, what started as a harmless swim ended in a horrifying discovery," the television announces. 

Donghyuck immediately pauses from working on his essay. Without sparing a glance to the television, his gaze stays fixated on his laptop screen with his cursor blinking, waiting for him to continue typing. 

"Some teens were taking a swim at the Grave Cove Lake and on their way out one of them found something that completely mortified them," the report continues with the teens that found the body expanding on the story but Donghyuck doesn't hear it. 

The noises around him slowly start to drown out as static fills his mind and a sharp, thin whining noise starts drilling into his eardrums. He could feel his own breathing start to wane disproportionately as his head begins to feel numb and light. As if all the blood in his body is being taken away, his vision starts to blur. 

A text notification from Mark is the last thing Donghyuck sees before he loses it.

_we need to talk._

\--

Shuffling back and forth, Donghyuck nibbles on his thumb's nail. The crunching leaves are all that can be heard as he continues to walk in circles. Jaemin's left leg bounces out of control as the rest of them sit in silence, waiting. 

"Would you stop that already?!" Jaemin snaps, "he'll come soon, Mark already texted him!" Not bothering to listen for Donghyuck's reply, he buries his head in his hands, murmuring quiet reaffirmations that they will be alright.

Seconds, minutes, hours passed and Jisung is still nowhere to be seen.

Chenle stands up from where he was sitting, "where the hell is he?!" Clearly agitated, he checks his watch once more despite knowing that three hours had already passed by. 

It’s weird, being together like this after a year of not acknowledging each other's presence. A whole year since the disappearance of Huang Renjun. They were interviewed by the police, interrogated by their parents-who specifically warned them to stay away from one another, terrified that their child would be the next one to disappear. 

Mark checks his phone one more time to see if Jisung had read the message he sent three days ago yet to no avail. As he was about to call it for the night for the third time, the sound of leaves crunching approaches them from the shadows.

Jeno scoffs immediately as soon as he saw the figure's face, "well if it isn't Mister leave-me-out-of-whatever-you-guys-are-planning-because-I'm-too-heartbroken-for-this-shit," he mocks before he stands on his feet next to Chenle. 

Jaemin exhales a shaky breath as he joins the rest of the guys standing. It was so weird for them to gather like this, in this spot. It was even weirder for them to have someone missing. Mark makes his way next to Jisung and pats him on the shoulder. The younger doesn't say anything, not even sparing a smile, he only hugs his chest waiting for someone to start.

"The dead body they found," Donghyuck mumbles, "it's Renjun, isn't it?" he breaks the ice.

Everyone stands still. They all had the same thought process but no one had dared to say it aloud. Not when they promised to not assume what happened that night.

Jaemin bites his lip hard, holding back from snapping at Donghyuck with the way he opened the conversation. No one dared to look at each other in the eye, all too scared to admit that they all took comfort in the fact that despite having no news from their friend, everyone silently agreed to choose blissful ignorance. They all chose to delude themselves, assuming that Renjun was safe as if he was not threatened by a stalker and had been forced to run away with all six of them hiding his disappearance. 

Chenle rocks back and forth, nibbling on his lips. "What do we tell them if they interrogate us again?" Jisung looks up and meets Mark's gaze; it's unsure and wary. 

"The truth," Mark declares, looking around. "We tell them our truth, that we had helped him cover his tracks that night as he tried to run away from his stalker." His eyes land on Jisung and the latter immediately avoids it.

The silence that follows Mark's words is suffocating. It doesn’t help that they’re back in the same woods they were in that very night, burying Renjun's belongings alongside the friendship they had thrown away. 

Jeno breaks the circle they had formed, sitting on a tree stump. "You know he was murdered," he mumbles, barely loud enough for the rest of the boys to hear him. 

"The autopsy said the body was stabbed a few times," he expands, "who do you think is capable of hurting Jun like that?" His eyes wander and land on Donghyuck. 

The two hold their gaze for a few seconds, the discomfort both parties felt intensifying as if they both knew something. Jeno is the first to break eye contact. 

"Well, it's gotta be his stalker right?" Chenle speaks up out of nowhere, startling Jisung.

"We can't be too sure about that," Mark rebuts, clicking his tongue, "we don't have enough information to pinpoint who it could be."

Donghyuck grunts, "Don't tell me you guys are suggesting we actually try to find a murderer." 

Jaemin pauses for a split second, taking in the words his friend had just said, "Why wouldn't we?" he snaps. "You know full well if Renjun was in your shoes right now and you were in his, he would do everything in his power to find out your killer!"

Donghyuck scoffs, "Renjun?" he rolls his eyes and walks out of the circle, "are you sure we're talking about the same person here? That guy threw us under the bus every time he saw fit!" he spits.

"You guys want to play detective? Be my guest, but don't you dare say that it's because you guys want to avenge him when we all wanted him gone one way or another." 

Everyone shrinks from guilt knowing full well Donghyuck only spoke of the truth. He turns on his heel and starts walking away and as he was five metres away from the rest of the guys, he turns around once more. "Oh, and word of advice," everyone's still, "you guys should probably clean up your act if you guys expect a bunch of teenagers to find a murderer out there."

Donghyuck walks away, leaving everyone stunned. Silence falls upon them once more with one of Donghyuck's words ingrained in their minds, _'murderer'_. Unbeknownst to them that the very person that had Renjun's blood on their hands, stands amongst them.

\--

Soon after that discussion, most go back on their separate ways, having Mark, the primary person to go out of his way looking for answers. And it just so happened that he's the son of the sheriff that was leading the case.

He enters the room and sits down in front of Chenle and Jisung, "anything new?" Chenle leans forward from his seat. Mark pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Well after figuring out that the killer is around our age, they hit a dead end," he explains.

Exasperated, Chenle leans back on the chair. "Who exactly is this person and how could they do such a thing?" he begins ranting, "what kind of heartless freak would kill Renjun in cold-blood? Like..." Chenle sighs.

"Don't they feel bad that Renjun's just like all of us with dreams, goals and a bright life ahead of him?" Chenle crosses his arms, "I mean what kind of sicko would-" before Chenle could continue anymore, Mark's hand taps his knee, catching Chenle's attention. 

Mark nods his head to Chenle's right, where the latter finds a sobbing Jisung. Blotched face and quietly blubbering, it’s obvious that Renjun's death hit Jisung the hardest. It makes sense, considering the two were practically attached by the hip when Renjun was still alive. 

Chenle immediately wraps his arms around Jisung and rubs the latter's shoulders. "it's okay Ji, we miss him too," he whispers. "It's not that," Jisung blubbers.

"What was that?" Chenle asks but as Jisung was about to answer someone enters the room.

Mark stands to his feet in shock, "Donghyuck," his voice sounds like it's about to crack at any given moment. 

"I still don't want to be a part of this, but your dad won't stop pestering me for this," Donghyuck hands Mark a bag of old phones. "That's our burner phones from back then. Jun gave this to me to bury that night before he left." He looks behind Mark and holds his gaze with both Jisung and Chenle for a few seconds before turning his eyes back on Mark. 

"I hope that enough evidence for your dad to stop suspecting me," Donghyuck's monotone voice always threw everyone off for some reason, but it never steered Renjun away, which probably was why Donghyuck stayed in their group. 

Despite not showing it, it was pretty obvious that Renjun's death also took a toll on him. Anyone that genuinely knew Donghyuck could tell that he was barely keeping it together. It was hard for anyone not to be upset, especially for someone like Donghyuck who considered Renjun to be his best friend. Of course, that was not enough for Mark's dad to clear him as the prime suspect. 

"Trust me, Mark, if I were truly the killer, I wouldn't still be here," he says, "anyone can tell how foolish it is to stay here after killing someone," he mumbles before walking away. 

\--

That night, Mark's dad leaves for dinner with his friends, leaving Mark with the house all to himself. He spends the night reading over filed evidence from the first news of Renjun's disappearance to the most recent news of his death. 

The wind whistles, warning the whole town that a storm was about to strike. There was stillness in the room as he silently read over the testimonies alongside the messages on the phone Donghyuck had given him. Suddenly, upon reading his group of friends' reports, he realises a discrepancy.

"No way," he murmurs to himself. Immediately, he reaches for a specific burner phone he checks the last received message. Thunder strikes upon reading the text, Mark loses grip and drops the phone.

_u can't kill me so i suggest u watch ur back. - rj._

**Author's Note:**

> hey!! i hope you all enjoyed that, thank you so so much for reading!! it was super fun writing this and i'm so glad to have joined this round of alw! feel free to leave me your thoughts in the comments ^^ once again thank you for reading!!


End file.
